A.R Rahman to perform at IIFA 2017

Chennai–Double Oscar-winning composer A.R Rahman on Thursday revealed that he will perform at the 18th edition of the International Indian Film Academy(IIFA) Weekend, to be hosted in New York this July.

AR Rahman (Photo: Mike Ritter)

“It’s special IIFA New York for me. Celebrating 25 years. Come join me at IIFA Festival,” Rahman tweeted.

This year marks Rahman’s 25th anniversary in filmdom. In 1992, Rahman made his musical debut with Mani Ratnam’s “Roja”.

This is the first time that the event will be held in New York “described as the city that never sleeps”. But the IIFA magic was first brought to Tampa Bay in the US in 2014, when stars like John Travolta and Kevin Spacey were in attendance.

The event, a”the biggest Bollywood celebration internationally”, will be held on July 14-15 at the iconic MetLife Stadium known for hosting National Football League games, major concerts and other entertainment events.

Apart from a plethora of Bollywood stars, southern film stars like Rajinikanth, Nagarjuna, Kamal Haasan, Allu Arjun and Jr. NTR are likely to attend too.

Started off as background dancer in 2006 IIFA: Sushant

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput is more than happy to perform at the 18th edition of the International Indian Film Academy(IIFA) awards and says he started his career in showbiz as a background dancer for the event in 2006.

Sushant on Wednesday took to Twitter and wrote:’ I’m so looking forward to performing IIFA 2017. I started off as a background dancer in 2006 IIFA.”

On the acting front, Sushant will be seen in Dinesh Vijan’s “Raabta”, which will release on June 9. The film also stars Kriti Sanon and Jim Sarbh. The actor is also prepping for the upcoming Hindi space film “Chanda Mama Door Ke”, where the “Kai Po Che!” star will play an astronaut.

It’s been 10 years: Abhishek Bachchan

Actor Abhishek Bachchan is more than happy about completing a decade of marriage with actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and has thanked all his fans and friends for their wishes.

Abhishek tweeted on Thursday: ” And just like that…. It’s been 10 years! Thank you all for the wishes for Aishwarya and I. Lots of love.”

The couple got married on April 20, 2007. The wedding took place in a private ceremony at the Bachchan residence, Prateeksha, in Juhu, here. They have been blessed with daughter Aaradhya.

Abhishek and Aishwarya have worked together in films like “Guru”, “Dhoom 2”, “Raavan” and “Sarkar Raj” among many others.

Rajkummar plays 324-year-old man in ‘Raabta’

Mumbai–National Film Award-winning actor Rajkummar Rao will be seen playing a man aged 324 in the forthcoming film “Raabta”.

The just released trailer of “Raabta” is packed with intrigue, love and the promise of a powerful storyline. The trailer ends with an element of surprise.

At the end of the trailer, one can spot a mysterious looking character, played by the “Trapped” actor.

The film’s team did 16 look test before picking the final one. Director Dinesh Vijan and Rajkumar sat along with the team over a couple of days to get the final look in place.

A special team from Los Angeles got on board and worked with Zuby Johal of Dirty Hands company to etch the look for the actor.

In addition to his look, his body posture and voice modulation had to be worked upon.

Rajkummar underwent five to six hours of prosthetic everyday to get into his character. In addition to that, his styling was important. He had to wear accessories and also have tattoos.

Talking about his friendly appearance in the film, Rajkummar said: “It was so much fun as an actor. Dinoo (Dinesh) has a very clear vision as a director and he gave me a lot of freedom as an actor to explore.”

“The prosthetics used to take almost five to six hours everyday and then I would start sweating inside all that make-up. It needed quite a bit of patience,” he added.

The movie stars Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon.

I have broken all norms, plan to break more: Gauhar

Mumbai– Bollywood actress and Big Boss winner Gauhar Khan on Thursday said she was advised not to do a lot of things but she has “broken all the norms and plans to break even more”.

“People told me not to do Big Boss, I did it and won the show. Then I was told that if in my first film I am not opposite Ranbir Kapoor I should not do the film, I did that and my character was the most remembered female character.

“Then people told me that if I do only songs I will be tagged as an item girl but I have broken all the norms… I plan to break still more,” said Gauhar, who was speaking at a press conference on the success of her film “Begum Jaan” on Thursday.

“If you can dream it you can achieve it, if you can believe it you can achieve it,” Gauhar added further.

Gauhar Khan’s “Begum Jaan”, which is a period drama film, written and directed by National Award-winning director Srijit Mukherji, was released on April 14 and got a good response from the audience.

The movie stars Vidya Balan in the lead role.

“I am a very big fan of Vidya Balan and I got a compliment that even in her presence, my role was distinct, I feel very humbled,” Gauhar said.

Gauhar khan is well-known for her films like “Ishaqzaade”, “Rocket Singh” and “Fever”.

She was also the winner of “Big Boss Season 7”, a reality show on Colors TV.